Fool Me Once
by Entaria
Summary: The Winchester boys get stumped on a case, and have to call in Dana to help them figure it out. Sequel to my other fic Up North, but reading it isn't necessary. Possible spoilers for anything in the first season. Rated for possible language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Um, just to be safe, I'm gonna say that there may be spoilers for anything in the first season**

**ok, so this is the sequel to another story of mine called Up North. If you haven't read it, I think you'll still be okay, I've tried to explain any important bits that happened briefly in here, but it will probably help if you've read it. Um, John's in this one (yay!) so it's obviously set before he died, I'm just not exactly sure _when_ before he died. And I apologize if his character's a little bit off, but he just doesn't want to cooperate. lol. So, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Sam, Dean, John, and anything else related to Supernatural are not mine. Dana, Shelly, and their story line are mine. If you steal them, I will hunt you down. **

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Chapter 1 

Dana's phone rang, making her jump.

"Hello?"

"Dana! It's Dean."

"Hey! I was wondering when you'd call."

"Well, you changed your phone number, we had to talk to Oracle to get it."

"Oh yeah. I kind of had a stalker a little while ago…"

"What!?!?"

"Yeah. It was a hunter. I saved him from a werewolf, and as a thanks he started stalking me."

"Are you okay?" the concern in Dean's voice was plain. Since the event with the rusalka, the three of them had happened to meet up a few times, though they hadn't been on any more hunts together. The brothers had started to think of Dana as a younger sister. Or, younger for Dean anyway, older for Sam.

"Of course I'm okay. He came out of it a lot worse than I did, believe me. I, uh, kind of gave him a concussion… and a broken nose… then I threatened to drag him back to where I found him and feed him to the werewolf," she laughed. "I scared him pretty good. Haven't seen him since, but I changed my number just in case. Anyway, are you calling for a reason or just to chat?"

"Well, we found something."

"And you can't figure out what it is?"

"Yeah. You're sure you're all right?"

Dana sighed, "Yes. Now let me go talk to my boss. I'll see if I can get down there."

* * *

As soon as she exited the plane, Dana could feel the amplifying effect of Sam's psychic ability on her own. Normally, she could sense only spirits and demons, seeing them as tiny lights in her head. When Sam was around though, she could sense the living as well. Being able to sense every person in the crowded airport overwhelmed her at first, but she soon picked out Sam, who was brighter than all the rest because of his being psychic, and walked towards where she judged him to be. She blocked her own power to avoid any ill effects towards Sam. They had learned early on that using her powers too close to him caused Sam to experience something very like a vision. 

She spotted the brothers finally and ran up to them.

"Hey guys!" She dropped her carry-on bag and dragged them into a hug. "How's it going?"

"Not too bad," Dean said, smiling. It really did feel like he was greeting a sister, back home from university like so many others that day. That is, until Sam spoke.

"You sure you're okay? I mean, stalkers are bad enough, but if he was a hunter too..."

Dana sighed, "Way to ruin the moment Sam. I already told Dean, I'm fine. He came out of it worse than I did, believe me. All I got was a couple of bruises." She spotted her luggage coming around and jogged over to pick it up. The three of them went outside and caught the shuttle bus to where Dean had parked the Impala.

"Ah, warmth," Dana basked in the glow of the sun for a minute before getting in the car. "Thank god you guys called me. I just finished hunting an ice worm up in Nunavut, and Shelly wanted me to go back up there to find out about some Inuit legend she's interested in."

Shelly was Dana's boss, and editor of_Paranormal Magazine_. Dana was their most successful journalist. Her articles were the most realistic sounding, probably because she used her own hunting notes to write them.

"I convinced her you guys were paranormal investigators who had invited me to come help you with a research project. Let me tell you, she jumped at the chance to get some 'professional' input on one of my articles, and booked me a flight down here right away. It's closed enough to the truth, right?" Dana had become very good at 'modifying' the truth, as she like to call it, without actually lying _per se_. This skill seemed to be a requirement if you were to be a hunter.

"Anyway, what did you guys find?" Dana asked.

"We have no idea," Sam answered. "That's why we called you. Even our dad doesn't know what it is."

"Wait," Dana smiled, exited. "Does this meant your dad's here? Hunting with you?"

"You bet," Dean said, grinning at Dana's enthusiasm. He remembered her reaction to seeing John's names inside the front of his journal.

_ "John Winchester?" She read softly from the inside of the front cover, then smiled. "So you're the Winchester boys eh? You know, if you'd told me that earlier, I might have actually trusted you."_

_ "What, you know our dad?" Dean asked incredulously. Why did it seem like everybody knew their dad?_

_ "Hell no. But I've heard of him. Probably the most famous hunter since Van Helsing."_

_ "Van Helsing?" Dean was suddenly doubtful about her sanity again. "I thought Van Helsing was a story."_

_ "What, your dad never told you?" Sam was staring at her in disbelief, and she judged Dean was too by what she could see in the rearview mirror. "The story's based on a real hunter. The best hunter there's ever been. Apparently John's not far behind. You're learning from the best."_

They pulled up outside an old motel, as per usual. Dana saw a man waiting outside on of the rooms. Tall, a bit scruffy, dark haired and dark eyed, just like Sam and Dean.

"That your dad?" she asked Dean.

"Sure is."

Dana hopped out of the car and strolled over to the oldest Winchester, doing a fair job of hiding her excitement.

"So, I finally get the chance to meet the famous John Winchester."

"You've heard of me? All the way up there in Canada?" he asked while shaking her hand.

" 'Course. I rarely meet a hunter who hasn't. We may be buried in ice and snow six months of the year, but we're not oblivious to the rest of the world."

"Right," John smiled, as always a little unsure of what to make of the fame he had accumulated in the hunting community. "My boys tell me you can help us figure out what this thing is?"

"No problem. If the three of you can't figure it out then it probably falls into my category of prey."

"Which would be?"

"The things that even hunters don't believe exist."

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**A/N: Okay, there it is. The stalker thing is a little taste of one of my original stories, which hasn't actually been written yet, but will be in the near future, and then hopefully published. Hope you enjoyed. Please review :D They're all appreciated, even if it's just a 'good job, keep going' type of thing. I've got the next chapter written but... I think I'll wait 'till next week to post it. Just because ; ) **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: well, here's chapter two, as promised. Chapter three hasn't been written yet, but I'll still try to get it up soon. John still isn't cooperating with my efforts to write him into this story. grrr. Therefore, he doesn't talk much this chapter.**

**As always, for those of you who actually know Latin, I apologize in advance for any bad Latin translations, even though I only used one word in this chapter.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Sam, Dean, or John. I'm just... borrowing them for my own amusement. Dana is mine, and I will hunt down anyone who steals her -glare- **

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Chapter 2

"People have been going missing around this old well at the outskirts of town," Dean explained as they walked through the empty streets.

"Water creatures seem to be my thing with you guys," Dana joked, remembering the water spirit from their last hunt together.

They went at night, so as not to attract unwanted attention. A large area around the well had been blocked off with bright yellow crimes scene tape to warn civilians to keep out. But since when do hunters follow the rules of civilians?

Dana walked around the inside of the tape, moving her flashlight beam across the ground in wide sweeps. Sam, Dean and John kept to the edge of the tape, out of her way.

"What's she doing?" John asked

"No idea, just let her be."

Dana scanned the ground. Here and there she could make out large paw prints where the ground had been wet. Occasionally she thought she saw different kinds of paw prints, but the lights was poor, so she couldn't be certain. She stopped at the well and shone the flashlight over two sets of deep gouges in the earth. Claw marks. She turned to the Winchesters.

"Hey, you three look strong," she called. "Come help me move this covering, will you?" she indicated the large stone slab on top of the well. The covering was held down with chains and a large heavy padlock. It looked like it hadn't been opened in years.

"What do you want to look in there for?" Dean asked. "It's chained and locked."

"Dragon," Dana said simply. "See these claw marks? They're about the right size for a small knucker. Dragon magic could easily open and close the lock without leaving any trace that it had been used.

"Knucker?" Dean asked.

"A water dragon. They live in wells and underground streams."

"Dragon?" John looked at her like she'd grown a second head. Dana sighed, remembering how difficult it had been trying to convince Sam and Dean that what she hunted was real.

"Don't question her Dad, please," Sam said. "Just accept it. We know how unbelievable it sounds, but it's true."

"Besides the fact that she'll get incredibly pissed if you question her," Dean chimed in.

"Okay," John said uncertainly. "Let's see about getting this lock off then." He took a step forward, intending to pick the lock, but Sam stopped him.

"You won't need to do that Dad."

"What?" he looked back at Sam, then at Dana who had knelt down and was holding the lock in her hand.

"_Patefacio_," she commanded. The lock clicked and fell open.

John gaped in amazement.

"She needs to come with us," he muttered to Dean.

"We already tried," Dean muttered back.

"There," Dana said, pointing at the deep gouges in the sides of the well once they had gotten the cover off. "More claw marks, and see that glow left on some of the rocks? That's left behind by knuckers."

She stood up.

"Looks like you boys have a dragon on your hands."

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**A/N: This chapter was originally part of the first chapter, but I decided to cut it in half. Partly because I hate long chapters, and partly because I was too lazy to finish typing the first chapter ;P Anyway, please review, always much appreciated. **


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